Palace on Wheels Coaches

Palace on Wheels has 14 coaches in its train and they are named after the ancient princely states of Rajputana (yesteryear Rajasthan region). Each coach is decorated with elements that represent the princely state’s culture, heritage, nature and beauty. Each coach holds four cabins with twin beds. The cabins are fitted with many amenities like en-suite bathrooms, intercom service, running hot/cold water, carpeted wall, channel music, air-conditioning and so on.

Each coach is served by a butler (Khitmadgar) who caters to every need of the guests, throughout the day. The coaches are attached with a mini pantry and lounge room with library for the guests to relax and enjoy the passing sceneries.

Apart from the tourist cabins, a few coaches are dedicated for services like bar, restaurants and others.

There are 14 Coaches in the Palace on Wheels

1. Alwar

Alwar City is located in between New Delhi and Rajasthan. This strategic location made it an important destination in the trade routes of the past. This city has rich heritage and a diverse flora and fauna wealth.

The Alwar coach’s décor focuses on cone and oil work, which represents the tradition and culture of the land. The lounge in this coach is decorated with miniature painting along with the royal emblem of the princely state. The walls are painted with pink to enhance the details of the paintings and artworks.

2. Bharatpur

This city is very famous for the Keoladeo Ghana bird sanctuary (a part of the itinerary too). This state was the main reign o Maharaja Suraj Mal, Jat King. The king was very famous for his military legion power, fortified township and valor. Today, this region is home to more than 376 migration bird species and several hundred local bird species.

To appreciate the nature wealth of the land, the coach is decorated with nature theme. You can find motifs and paintings of birds in its natural habitat in this coach. To express foliage of the region, the coach is painted with beige and aqua color. The cabins are decorated with inlay work made with white cedar.

3. Bikaner

Bikaner was a famous royal princely state during 15 th century. The coach is decorated with vibrant red and gold to match the architectural beauty of eminent structures of Bikaner like Anup Mahal, Padam Mahal and others of Junagarh Fort. The coach is decorated with the ‘Arabian Nights’ historic style.

To remind the legendary lovers Dhola and Maru of Bikaner, you can find a large oil painting of the couple on the back of a camel, painted in Mughal style. The cabins are decorated with handicrafts and other styles of paintings too. Apart from Bikaneri artwork, you can also find a few Mughal styled decorations in this coach.

4. Bundi

Bundi is a historic land famous for baolis (step well), palaces, Taragrah Fort, water tanks and others. The best of all is the Bundi Palace of this township.

The base color of this coach matches with the Hati Pol and Bundi Palace of the region. The walls of the coach are decorated with different traditional styles of paintings like Ragmala, Rag and Ragini. The coach’s ceiling is decorated with fresco art work to match the royal heritage of the land. The water color work of the coach represents the architectural beauty of Taragarh Fort.

5. Dholpur

Dholpur princely state is famous for its wealth in sandstone. This sandstone became the base for constructing many palaces, havelies and other structures with railing works, balconies, lattice works and others.

Dholpur coach is designed with teak ply wood to enhance the beauty of sandstone works. You can also find Zardosi work all around the coach to represent the architectural beauty of the land.

6. Dungargarh

This is a hill town and the home land of Bhil tribes. The coach is decorated with lep work, relief work and mirror work, which are the traditional handicraft of the tribes. You can also find Zardosi works on the walls of this coach.

7. Jaisalmer

This Golden City was established in 12 th century by Rao Jaisal. This city is very famous for its ancient Jain temples, cobbled streets, havelies and the famous Jaisalmer Fort.

The coach is decorated with curved Jharokas on the ceiling, which are found in the havelies of the land. The Jharoka work is made on teakwood. To add more royal beauty to the walls, mirror works are done. To represent the desert landscape of this city, beige color is used for the walls.

8. Jaipur

This 18 th century planned city of Sawai Jai Singh is one of the royal cities of Rajputana. This is today’s Rajasthan’s capital city. This city was planned and designed to incorporate the royal grandeur with monument, gardens and others.

The coach of Jaipur is designed with foil work of Phad on the ceiling to represent the cultural festivals of the land like Gangaur, Teej, Diwali, Holi and others. The Jaipur state emblem is embossed with Zardosi work on the wall of this coach. The coach is also decorated with miniature paintings on the wall and frescoes of gold and blue on the ceiling.

9. Jhalawar

Jhalawar region belonged to the Jhala tribe, who flourished in Rajasthan region. This is the royal clan of the state. The region was established as a kingdom in 19 th century. The Jahalwar coach is decorated with elements that represent the living style and culture of the clan of this city.

The walls of the coach are decorated with mirrors and works on plaster of Paris. The coach is also decorated with Rajputana styled traditional handicrafts and Zardosi works.

10. Jodhpur

The emblematic structure of the city is the grand Mehrangarh Fort. The coach of Jodhpur is decorated to resemble the famous fort.

On the ceiling of the coach, you will find craftsmanship which is similar to the Mehrangarh Fort. The walls of the coaches are filled with miniature painting to represent the culture of the bygone era of Jodhpur. The ceiling of the coach is filled with Mughal style artwork.

11. Kishangarh

The ancient city of Kishangarh is very famous for Bani Thani painting. The ceilings of the coach are decorated with this painting. The coach is colored with an interesting mix of patterns and colors to represent the beautiful culture of the land.

The lounge in the coach is decorated with Zardosi work. The most interesting part of this lounge is the ceiling art made with enamel with foil work, which gives a 3-D effect.

12. Kota

The city of Kota is located closer to the Chambal River and thanks to the river; the land is lush with gardens, forests and other foliage.

The main attraction of Kota is the City Palace and the infamous Hati Pol. Oil paintings of the monarch of City Palace and his subjects are found in the walls of this coach. The grand element of this coach is the oil painting of royal procession of Raja Ram Singh of 19 th century in the ceiling of the coach.

13. Sirohi

The main tourist attraction of Sirohi Princely state is the infamous Gold Fort. Main attraction of Gold Fort is the colored glasses, which cover the fort. The fort is built with Indo-European architectural style with a hint of Rajasthani architecture.

The décor of Sirohi coach is very similar to the structure of Gold Fort. Gold foil and glass works are used to create a glamor look to the coaches. To represent the royal heritage of the land, semi-precious stones are embedded in the walls of the coach. To represent the culture, miniature paintings of Rajasthani style are hung from the walls of the coach.

14. Udaipur

This city is one of the most important tourist site of Rajasthan and the famous land of Sisodia Rajputs who turned it into the city of lakes, the White City. The land gets its charm from the lush Lake Pichola and the long list of monuments on the ground.

To represent the lush lakes of the land, the walls of the coach are painted with blue and white combination. The peacock court of City Palace is taken as an inspiration to decorate the lounge of this coach. The walls of this coach are decorated with white metal work made on oxidized metal called as Patra work and also you can find a few relief works in the coach. Interior of the cabins are decorated with Jardosi work.